Futures Flat Ahead of Factory Orders Data

U.S. stock index futures turned flat on Tuesday, surrendering earlier gains as shares in Europe moved lower, and ahead of the factory orders data.

Stocks globally were a mixed bag.

In a widely-expected move, the Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate unchanged at 2.75 percent, and stated that the Australian dollar was still at high levels. In reaction, the currency lost nearly 1 percent to fall below the $0.92 handle against the greenback. Australia's benchmark S&P ASX 200 closed 2.6 percent higher.

A weaker currency also helped the Japanese Nikkei, which crossed the key 14,000 points to hit a new one-month high. The Shanghai Compositereversed earlier losses to rise above the 2,000 mark, its highest level in over one week.

However, shares in Europe traded lower, as tensions rose in Italy's fragile coalition government. Prime Minister Enrico Letta called a government meeting after the Civic Choice (Scelta Civica) party threatened to withdraw from the coalition on Monday, citing frustration with the slow pace of reforms.

"Financial markets are pulling-back on Tuesday after registering strong gains in the previous session, driven by a pick-up in manufacturing data out of Europe and the U.S.," Ishaq Siddiqi, a market strategist at ETX Capital, said in a morning note.

On the economic front, factory orders for May will be reported at 10 am ET. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a gain of 2 percent, twice the rate of the previous month. And auto companies are expected to report June sales throughout the session.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors will meet at 9:30 a.m. ET to discuss the implementation of Basel III bank capital rules. And the New York Fed's Bill Dudley will speak later this afternoon about economic conditions.

Among earnings, Constellation Brands declined after the alcoholic beverage company reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings. Still, the company lifted its full-year forecast.

Second-quarter earnings season will officially kickoff next week, when Dow component Alcoa reports on July 8. Market expectations are low for earnings, with S&P Capital IQ knocking down its expectations again this week to 2.8 percent for the S&P 500 bottom-line profit.

Meanwhile, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust announced plans for a $20 million IPO (initial public offering), offering investors exposure to the Bitcoin digital currency. In the meantime, the world's second biggest IPO of the year, a $4 billion new listing by Suntory Beverage and Food, will debut on the Tokyo stock exchange this week.